The North Bohemian town of Kunratice near Cvikov can be found a few kilometres behind Nový Bor. It is a village situated in the valley of a picturesque landscape, guarded by several high hills made of the Znělce Proto-Mountain. The heavily wooded, romantic region with the village, which was first mentioned in 1296, has been a strong magnet for sightseeing or adventure tourism for ten years. This is mainly thanks to the popular glassmaking area of the family company of Jiří Pačink, nicknamed by journalists the uncrowned king of Czech glassmakers.
To Kunratice we turn off the Nový Bor - Cvikov - Liberec - Prague expressway. On the edge of the village we are greeted by a spectacular large blue sculpture of Sublime, composed of glass bubbles on the right side, a sign that we are going well. On the left, we will also be attracted by the unique monument to Emperor Joseph II, a humanist and progressive visionary who became famous for, among other things, limiting the influence of the Catholic Church and abolishing monasteries. We pass the school building and a view of our destination opens up. On our right we see the 1833 Empire-style Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, now transformed into the so-called Crystal Church. And on the left, we can see the Pačinka Glassworks with its glassworks, sales gallery, glassworks canteen, unique Glass Garden and cottages, used for accommodation of visitors who wish to extend their trip by a few days by visiting the region with the borders of the Czech Switzerland National Park, where they have to go through the nearby Krásná Lípa.
Glass Paradise
The family company Pačinek Glass is one of the most important creators of art glass, produced using the traditional Czech technique of hand shaping. It has been operating on the world glass scene as an independent brand since 2007, while celebrating ten years of operation in its own glassworks, which was established in 2015 by reconstructing a former machine tractor station.
Not only do glass artists, artists, filmmakers, architects and designers from all over the world open their doors here, but also the general public. The glassworks is open for tourist excursions all year round. The experience of getting a glimpse of the glassmakers right under their hands is extraordinary. Master Pačinek himself will also be happy to show his magic with a glass whistle at the mouth of visitors to the factory, who can watch tourists at work on his demanding original projects. These include, for example, large sculptures of horses, birds, fish and plants, and other works inspired by nature, which then give rise to amazing and unique garden projects for even the most demanding customers, as guests will see on a walk through the amazing, unrivalled Glass Garden in the valley just below the glassworks.
Crystal Temple
The highlight of the visit to the glassmaking area presented in these lines is a tour of the above-mentioned sanctuary (cultural monument), which in 2020 hosts a comprehensive exhibition of modern glass by Jiří Pačink, including glass interior accessories. This unique gallery offers visitors an extraordinary artistic experience, enhanced by the spiritual space of the church, consisting of a combination of historic sacred architecture with modern glass in the form of large sculptures, lamps or installations, including a unique glass altar.
As the company's artistic manager David Sobotka informed us, regular exhibitions are also held here, such as the presentation of works by the painter Hunčovský at the beginning of April this year.
When hand to hand, the work succeeds
Opening of the joint exhibition of Karel Hunčovský and glassmaker Jiří Pačink entitled CONNECTIONS will take place on Saturday, April 5, 2025 at 3 p.m. with both authors in attendance.
A collector of various objects, a guide to the underground, a world traveller, but mainly a painter, Karel Hunčovský comes from North Bohemia, where he lives and has been painting in oil, watercolour and dry pastel for more than twenty years. His great passion, travelling, led him to the Pačink glassworks, where he was inspired not only by what is created on the glass pipes, but above all by those who are behind this birth of fragile beauty. Thus, a series of paintings was created in which, alongside the face and figure of Jiří Pačinek, portraits of other blowers, cutters and other members of Pačinek Glass are depicted in their working situations, holding glass in its various forms. Literally! As manager Sobotka emphasizes, the glass fragments become an original "living" part of the painted picture, forming a unique and real whole together with the depicted person.
We would like to remind you that the collection of fifteen paintings can be admired in the magical space of the Crystal Temple, just a few steps away from the Kunratice glassworks where the situations depicted in the paintings took place. Karel Hunčovský painted with a brush and Jiří Pačinek with a glass whistle.
More on www.kristalovychram.cz or www.pacinekglass.com
In conclusion, it should be said that the exhibition is one of the first events of this year's celebration of the ten years of the establishment of the Kunratice glassworks. The main one will take place in May. But that will be the subject of another article.
gnews.cz - Ivan Černý
ILLUSTRATIVE PHOTO - Pachinek Glass archive
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